A group of 11 public schools that provide academically advanced students with a challenging college preparatory experience. Each of the Selective Enrollment High Schools offers a rigorous curriculum with mainly honors and Advanced Placement courses (courses that offer the opportunity to earn college credit). The admissions process is extremely competitive and highly selective.

Schools to Consider:

• Brooks College Prep Website | School Profile

• Hancock College Prep Website | School Profile

• Jones College Prep Website | School Profile

• King College Prep Website | School Profile

• Lane Technical High School Website | School Profile

• Lindblom Math and Science Academy Website | School Profile

• Northside College Prep Website | School Profile

• South Shore International College Prep Website | School Profile

• Walter Payton College Prep Website | School Profile

• Westinghouse College Prep Website | School Profile

• Whitney Young Magnet High School Website | School Profile

How to Apply:

Students submit their applications at Go.CPS.edu. You can apply to up to six Selective Enrollment High Schools.

The selection process is based on a 900-point system. Each student’s total score is determined by the combination of two components:

• Seventh grade final grades in Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies (maximum of 450 points)

  1. • • A = 112.5 points

       • B = 75 points

       • C = 38 points

       • D/F = 0 points

       • Students with grades lower than three A's and one B in 7th grade have a low chance of being offered a spot, especially if the student lives in a Tier 4 neighborhood. 

• CPS High School Admissions exam - students take this exam in the fall of their 8th grade year (maximum of 450 points) The exam was updated in fall 2023.

  1. • • One Reading section (30 minutes):

         1. 23 questions

         2. "Most questions focus on inferring and generalizing information in passages. Includes both informational and literary texts."

       • One Math section (30 minutes)

         1. 36-39 questions

         2. "Questions emphasize the ability to solve quantitative problems. "

       • The test will last approximately one hour.

       • The test will be available in the following languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Polish, and Urdu. 

Calculate your score here, and see last year's Selective Enrollment minimum point totals (previously referred to as cut-scores) here.

Selection Process:

Because there are so many qualified applicants for Selective Enrollment High Schools, each school does two rounds of selections. During the first round, the first 30% of seats are awarded to those with the highest point totals. In the second round, applicants are split by score and by socio-economic tier. Then, the remaining 70% of seats are split by tier (17.5% of seats for each), and the top scorers in each tier are offered spots. To find out which tier you are in, go to this site and type in your address: http://cpstiers.opencityapps.org/ . 

Selective Enrollment schools now participate in the waitlist process. Students who apply to Selective Enrollment schools but do not receive any offers will be placed on waitlists at all SE schools they apply to until the 20th day of the next school year.

**Selective Enrollment schools can admit up to 5% of their available seats via the Principal Discretion method. These applications open after first round offers are released. For detailed information about the Principal Discretion process, read the handbook.